Destruction (2017)
|venue=Azuma Gymnasium Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall Kobe World Memorial Hall |city=Fukushima Hiroshima Kobe |attendance=2,056 3,601 5,482 |lastevent=Road to Destruction (2017) |nextevent=New Japan Road: Ganbarou! Uonuma 2017 |liveevent=y |event=Destruction |lastevent2=Destruction in Kobe (2016) |nextevent2=Destruction in Hiroshima (2018) |future=y }}Destruction was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) annually since 2007. In 2017, NJPW produced three events under the Destruction name; Destruction in Fukushima on September 10, Destruction in Hiroshima on September 16, and Destruction in Kobe on September 24. These were fifteen to seventeen events under the Destruction name. Production Background The 2017 were the second consecutive year in which NJPW holds three events under the Destruction name. From 2007 to 2013, NJPW held one Destruction event per year, expanding to two shows in 2014 and 2015 and to three shows in 2016. Storylines The Destruction shows featured professional wrestling matches, each of which involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Destruction in Fukushima was headlined by Minoru Suzuki making his third defense of the NEVER Openweight Championship against Michael Elgin. This match stems from the 2017 G1 Climax, where Elgin defeated Suzuki, challenging him to a title match afterwards. On September 7, Suzuki and Elgin agreed to turn the match into a lumberjack deathmatch, which was made official the following day. The show also featured CHAOS' Kazuchika Okada, Rocky Romero and Toru Yano challenging Los Ingobernables de Japon's BUSHI, EVIL and SANADA for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. The match marks IWGP Heavyweight Champion Okada's first-ever shot at the title and also serves as a prelude to EVIL challenging him for the Heavyweight title on October 9 at King of Pro-Wrestling. Destruction in Hiroshima was headlined by Hiroshi Tanahashi making his first defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Zack Sabre Jr. During the 2017 G1 Climax, Sabre put himself in title contention by scoring two submission wins over Tanahashi, first in their opening tournament match on July 17 and again in a non-tournament six-man tag team match on August 13. In the semi-main event, Sabre's Suzuki-gun stablemate El Desperado challenges KUSHIDA for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. El Desperado defeated KUSHIDA during the 2017 Best of the Super Juniors and on June 27, after KUSHIDA had successfully defended the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against BUSHI, hit him with a guitar and challenged him to a title match. While KUSHIDA was absent from the G1 Climax tour, El Desperado made repeated challenges towards him. When the two finally met on August 12, El Desperado hit KUSHIDA with his own title belt, which he then proceeded to steal. The show will also feature a third title match involving Suzuki-gun with Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru challenging Funky Future (Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi) for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. In addition, the show will feature Roppongi Vice's final match together as a tag team. After unsuccessfully challenging then IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) for the title on July 2, Roppongi Vice agreed to disband with Rocky Romero giving Beretta his blessing to move to the heavyweight division. Destruction in Kobe was headlined by Kenny Omega defending the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship against Juice Robinson. This match also stems from the 2017 G1 Climax, where Robinson picked up a win over Omega, asking for a shot at his IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship in a post-match interview. With Omega having won the tournament on July 2 to become the inaugural IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion, this match marks the first-ever defense of the title. Omega was scheduled to participate in the entire tour, but on September 6, it was announced that he had suffered a knee injury and was pulled from shows between September 7 and 22. He was replaced by the debuting Leo Tonga, the youngest brother of Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa. In addition to these title matches, all three shows aalso featured a three-way tag team match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship with War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) taking on Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer) and Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa). After successfully defending the title against Bullet Club's Cody and Hangman Page on August 13, War Machine were confronted and challenged to a title rematch by Guerrillas of Destiny. However, before they could respond, both teams were attacked by the Killer Elite Squad. This marked a return for K.E.S., who had not been seen together since the previous February, when Archer was sidelined with a lumbar disc herniation. Reception ;Destruction in Fukushima Bryan Rose of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter wrote that Destruction in Fukushima was "one of the weaker cards New Japan has put out this year, topped by a main event that was one of the worst New Japan main events in I don't know how long". Larry Csonka of 411Mania had similar sentiments, calling the show "extremely disappointing" and "possibly the laziest, most lifeless show the promotion has put on all year". He rated the main event a "dud", calling it "an embarrassment". ;Destruction in Hiroshima The show was better received than its predecessor. Larry Csonka of 411Mania wrote that Destruction in Hiroshima "wasn't a great show, but it was closer to the company getting back to form" after the Fukushima show. Bryan Rose of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter wrote that the Hiroshima show exceeded the Fukushima show "pretty much in every way". ;Destruction in Kobe Bryan Rose of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter called the show "just there", deeming everything but the two title matches and the match between Beretta and Yujiro Takahashi "skippable". Rose praised the main event of the show as "fantastic". Larry Csonka of 411Mania rated the show "good". While being down on the first three matches, he praised the main event as a "must see". Results Destruction in Fukushima Destruction in Hiroshima Destruction in Kobe References External links Category:NJPW Events Category:NJPW Destruction Category:Events